The Martial Master - 20 Ancient Fist Ar

*RUMBLE*

“Huh?”

Sitting on the sofa in a daze, Yi Zan jumped as she felt an intense rumble fluctuate and throw her up in the air for a moment. Before she could even react, the world shuddered even more intensely as the sun up in the sky got blotted out by an oval, blood red moon.

The sky and the earth trembled with an intense shiver and before they knew it, the whole world was shrouded in a pitch black. It was a black that seemed to seeth with an eery nature that made Yi Zan shiver. It was as if, within this darkness were nightmarish beasts that she couldn’t fight against.

It was the fear of the unknown; similar to how a kid would fear what was under his bed in the middle of the night… It was such a darkness that throbbed and palpitated with a static greyness that you couldn’t see through.

Quivering, Yi Zan tried to see through the murky darkness that encompassed everywhere, yet it was pointless. As she was panicking, two equally frightened voices whispered next to her.

“Yi Zan, you’re here right?”

Yi Zan jumped when she heard the two voices next to her; forcing her out of her panicked state. She breathed in before speaking in a serious tone.

“Stay put, I think wave 3 is coming…”

As if the darkness were responding to her, a sudden thunderous echo blazed through the atmosphere as a solidified boom struck the ground; blitzing through everyone’s ears.

A bright flash that ignored reality pierced into everyone’s sight as a laughter shook the earth and the heavens.

“Hahaha!”

It shook her and the twin’s minds as they felt a soul-chilling wind sweep through the entire world. As this happened, numerous shrill screams that made the heart squeal screeched through the darkness; some near, some close.

Yi Zan’s heart went cold as she heard one of these screams occur right in the same room as her; moving through the capitulating darkness.

Her body froze and her thoughts slurred with despair as her ears perked and tried to pick out the subtle sounds in the darkness.

*Scratch*

An abrupt scratch squeaked on a wooden chair as she felt a subtle gush of cold wind settle on her face. She couldn’t see anything, but her heart seemed to thrash in her chest as she held her breath for God knows how long.

Well until something unexpected happened…

“Uh..? Who turned off the lights?”

A yawn grumbled as a familiar voice struck the eery silence. Yi Zan’s eyes shone with panic as she felt a similar gush of wind fly past her and towards the source of the voice.

“Huh? Why’s a black thing flying at me…”

The voice shone with a confused tone before drifting into silence again. Yi Zans heart pummelled at an even more fierce rate as she dwindled in the silence; waiting for something, anything…

*SLAP*

“GAAAAH!!!”

A boom struck something as a squeal screamed in agony, yet before it could even finish another dull thud struck the floor; squelching as if it was grinding flesh into a pulp.

An aggravated voice struck the room; containing a faint demand that echoed within it.

“This darkness is annoying…”

The darkness seemed to shiver as it felt a faint pressure smash onto it; thrumming with a beast like might that wanted it to kneel.

As this happened, a hoarse growl shuddered through the air; speaking with a fierceness that seemed almost primal.

“Fist. First Form.”

The darkness seemed to shudder even more after that growl; as if it feared it, but it wasn’t over.

“Might of the Ancient.”

A rumble that shook the very foundations of the earth streaked through the air as a gust of wind sprung out from within the room. The wind spread out with a silent and tranquil motion; as if it were inconspicuous and harmless.

Yet, wherever it went crackling noises reverberated as the darkness seemed to constrict before getting thrashed onto the ground with an inexplicable pressure.

Yi Zan’s eyes widened as that simple gust of wind swept past her and, without warning, an unstoppable might exerted itself ontop her. Her face fell as she was shoved into the sofa; her lungs compressed and her consciousness blurred.

The darkness fumed with despair as it dissipated into the ether; making everyone’s hearts quiver. Only a few seconds pass when a sigh emerged as the intense pressure shrouding room blew itself away with the same tranquilness from before.

The room was no longer pitch black!

Yi Zan’s breath was ragged as she forced herself to look up, where she saw Su Min. It was strange, but his eyes seemed to blaze with something puzzling. Like It was an unyielding nature that seemed to reject the world; like it was mocking the heavens.

Su Min’s eyes swept past the group as he scratched his head and apologised.

“Ah, sorry about that. I didn’t realise that you were here with me, so…”

Yi Zan jumped as she was forced out of her reverie; nodding. The twins sitting away from her gulped with fear at Su Min; asking.

“Did you have a… nice sleep?”

Su Min’s gaze turned strange as he looked at the both of them, deciding to ignore their question, then at the outside. It was strange beyond belief, like everything but their room was black. Even then, the black from the outside seemed to want to retake what was stolen.

Su Min’s expression turned serious as he squinted to try to see past, yet to no avail.

‘It appears that even with my vision I can only see around 1 meter in front of me…’

Su Min paused with a thoughtful expression; crackling his fists as he stretched a bit.

‘I’m guessing that I obtained some more of that ancient races inheritance. It seems to be a technique called the Ancient Fist Art, mmm. I can only perform the first and second form, though, and even then very poorly.’

The technique itself, that he received at least, was incomplete to a massive degree. It was to the point that he doesn’t actually know how to practice anything further than the second fist art, and even then he only knows the name of the first one.

However, whether it was indirect or not, the technique has allowed him to discover something that had been a mystery to him, and that was the symbols engraved on his bones and muscle. It was because when he performed the first fist art earlier, something strange happened.

It was like, for just a moment, those symbols in his muscle and bone formed a loop around his body causing a strange energy circulated through it. This strange energy didn’t last long, but some of it left his fist when he punched out.

‘My memories are a bit fuzzy…’

He could remember the first half of when he got transported into that dream world, however, the second half was but a blur. It was like something engrained itself in his mind before muddling his memories up; inadvertently or not.

It was like he instinctually knew how to perform the two fist arts; As if he engrained them in his head. He didn’t know why, but he also felt that he wouldn’t be able to further the technique without going back into that world, or he will forever remain at the stage he is now at.

‘I wonder what would happen if I use the second fist art…’